Mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) can damage vehicles and injure or kill vehicle occupants. Some work has been carried out to detect and disable mines and IEDs. Other engineering concerns tailoring vehicles to be more resistant to the blast of a mine or IED. Examples include the V-hull of the MRAP and STRYKER vehicles designed to deflect away a part of the explosive forces originating below the vehicle. See for example, published U.S. Patent Application Nos. 2011/0169240 and 2011/0148147, incorporated herein by this reference.
There is a limit, though, to how much of the explosive blast can be deflected. And, some vehicles cannot be engineered to include a V-hull. Still other vehicles cannot be equipped with heavy armor. The military HMMWV vehicle, for example, is and must remain configured to quickly traverse difficult terrain.